New artworks by Mark Jones explore the rhythms of suburban life through linocut prints and paintings that chart the intersections of memory, place, and community.
In Mapping the Familiar, Hampshire-based artist and printmaker Mark explores the rhythms of suburban life through linocut prints and paintings that chart the intersections of memory, place,
and community. Transforming the often-overlooked details of everyday surroundings, his work reflects on belonging and shared experience.
Inspired by walking, local history, and the quiet narratives of suburban life, Mark captures the gentle choreography of neighbourhood streets - dog walkers, passing figures, and familiar landmarks - rendered with precision and warmth. Through his distinctive approach to linocut and painting, he maps both the physical and emotional contours of place, inviting viewers to consider how ordinary settings become repositories of collective memory and how observation can reconnect us with the spaces we call home.
This celebration of the local continues in Mark’s commissioned public artwork for the Boorley Green Community Centre, created in collaboration with local residents. The piece takes the form of an alternative map of Botley and Boorley Green, highlighting nature, local wildlife, and people enjoying the outdoors. Community groups contributed handmade relief prints to form a 20-metre frieze — a vibrant expression of shared creativity and local pride. Smaller versions of the frieze are also on display at the Arc City Space.
Mapping the Familiar celebrates the beauty of the local and the enduring significance of community in shaping the landscapes of daily life.
Artist Bio
Hampshire-based artist and printmaker Mark creates contemporary linocut prints and paintings inspired by suburban life, walking, and local history. Deeply influenced by psychogeography and the experience of exploring Hampshire suburbia, his work examines how places evolve through human activity, uncovering layers of archaeology, memory, and community. His imagery often depicts dog walkers, neighbourhood streets, and everyday encounters — quiet yet evocative moments that reveal the rhythms of British suburban life.
Mark’s practice is both research-driven and experiential, shaped by his daily walks, which he values as meditative, mood-boosting, and restorative. Through these explorations, he observes the shifting relationship between people and place, documenting the character of new residential villages — their houses, gardens, wildlife, and street scenes — as a reflection on space, connection, and belonging. Each artwork evolves through an intuitive process of sketching, carving, and inking, where experimentation and chance play a central role.
Before focusing full-time on his artistic career, Mark served as Head of Art at Peter Symonds College, leading a department recognised for outstanding results in Fine Art, Textiles, Photography, and Sculpture. Earlier in his career, he worked for David Hilton Tableware in London, producing high-quality ceramic-handled cutlery and coordinating tableware for prestigious retailers. Since retiring from teaching in 2020, he has completed an MA in Illustration with Distinction and now exhibits nationally, including at the Royal Academy, with a forthcoming solo show at The Arc, Winchester, in 2026
